Hook and Loop Fastener Doffing System
A quick-release garment has portions connected about a wearer and held in place by hook and loop fasteners. Quick-release tabs are connected to a rear portion of a hook and loop fastener element so as to extend along it and to project along an opposite end in a position making a loop piece accessible by the wearer. By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly. Such an arrangement is provided in a plate-carrying vest garment at a shoulder and at a cummerbund to allow convenient and rapid doffing of the garment, while being simply reassembled after such removal.
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STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to garments with provision for rapid removal.
Persons exposed to projectile threats, such as police officers and soldiers, may seek a certain level of protection by wearing armored clothing. Low velocity projectiles such as handgun rounds, fragmentation rounds from a grenade or mortar, and miscellaneous shrapnel may be countered by so-called “soft armor.” Soft armor is worn in the form of jackets, vests, etc. which are composed of assemblies of ballistic fabric such as those formed from DuPont Kevlar® fibers or of Spectra® ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fibers from Honeywell. The soft armor is often fabricated as flexible panels which are received within pockets or pouches formed in fabric vests or jackets. In more serious threat situations, where higher velocity rifle rounds must be countered, soft armor has typically been supplemented with hard armor fabricated of rigid plates of ceramic, polymer, or metal. Vests with pockets for hard armor, known as plate carriers, can also be provided with attachment points for attaching pouches and other elements. A standardized attachment system employed by US military services is the U.S. Army's PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) arrangement. Commonly, the PALS system is a component of a supporting vest such as those which are a part of the US Army's MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) system.
Body armor can contribute to the safety of a soldier in combat situations, but it is important that it not significantly detract from the soldier's ability to perform combat tasks, and that it not be an impediment to providing assistance to the soldier in the event of injury. Thus, while a body armor system should be securely mounted to the soldier, it should be rapidly removable in an emergency. For example, if the wearer becomes immersed in a body of water, the weight of the vest system and attached supplies can compromise his ability to remain afloat. If a wearer is wounded, the garment should be readily removed without aggravating the injury. In some systems, an emergency release pin is provided which engages with lacing held in place by eyelets which are threaded on the pin. By withdrawing the pin, the body armor can by opened up and the wearer expeditiously extricated. Yet this arrangement can result in the lacing and released eyelets becoming tangled or disarrayed, making reassembly of the armor a time-consuming task. Moreover, a complicated quick-release system involving many specialized parts can add to the cost of the garment. At times a steel cable is used for a quick-release actuator, which is provided with a urethane coating to protect the cable from the environment and to make it slick for ready withdrawal. The cable is narrow, but the thickness of the cable can make it uncomfortable to the wearer if a rifle strap or the like passes over it and can create a pressure point.
What is needed is a garment system which can be rapidly disassembled and reassembled.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe quick-release garment of this invention makes use of hook and loop fasteners, such as those sold by Velcro Industries B.V. LLC, the Netherlands, under the trademark VELCRO®, to releasably connect portions of a garment. The hook and loop fastener has one fastener element with projecting hooks, and another mating fastener element with projecting loops. These two elements when engaged face to face provide a secure attachment. This attachment generally resists separation by forces applied along the plane of the connection, while being readily separated by peeling the two elements apart. The garment has quick-release tabs which are connected to a rear portion of a hook and loop fastener element so as to extend along it and to project along an opposite end in a position making a loop piece accessible by the wearer. By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly. This arrangement is readily employed where a garment has hook and loop fastener engagement between parts, and can be economically fabricated using conventional sewing techniques.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a quick release garment which is readily removed in a short period of time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for separating the connection between two hook and loop fastener elements wherever found on a garment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a quick release arrangement for a garment using sewn fabric and fastener pieces.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring more particularly to
The invention makes use of two-part hook and loop fastener material, which is comprised of a fastener element of hook fastener material, indicated in the drawings by a pattern of small crosses, and a fastener element of loop fastener material, indicated in the drawings by a pattern of small circles. It should be understood that where hook fastener material is shown engaging with loop fastener material, the locations of the two halves of the hook and loop fastener can be reversed with similar function.
The prior art vest 20 is reconfigured into the quick-release garment 36 of the present invention shown in
The shoulder quick release module 40 has a quick-release tab 44 which may be a ½ inch wide strip of woven webbing which extends through a rigid plastic loop piece 46, which provides a readily graspable termination to the module 40. The narrow tab 44 extends from a wider woven body 48 which may be about 2 inches wide. A hook and loop fastener element 50 is sewn to the body 48. The tab 44 preferably extends across the entire length of the body 48.
As shown in
The shoulder strap cover 42, shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The cummerbund quick release module, as shown in
The cummerbund quick-release module 43 is connected to the cummerbund closure panel 76 as shown in
When the vest 36 is donned by the wearer 102, and the shoulder straps are connected, the cummerbund closure panel 76 is brought into engagement with the vest front panel 22 and the front flap 34 folded down to complete the entry of the wearer into the vest. In this configuration, the cummerbund module quick-release tab 84 protrudes through an opening between the front flap and the front panel, and the shoulder module quick release tab 44 protrudes through the strap opening 60. Both tabs 84, 44 are accessible from the wearer's front, and are readily grasped one after the other by his left hand. To quickly release the vest 36 and permit a rapid doffing of the garment, the wearer may grasp and pull the tabs 84, causing the shoulder and cummerbund hook and loop fastener engagements to be broken, and the garment 36 to be put in a condition where it can be readily removed.
Looking more closely at the mechanics of operation of the quick release mechanism, consider first the arrangement at the shoulder strap connection, as shown in
The quick release tab 44 is graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab in the direction extending from the remote margin to the near margin causes the fastener element 58 to peel away from the fastener element 72 to cause the fastener element 58 and the quick release tab 44 to pass across the near margin, and through the opening 60, thereby separating the shoulder straps.
In a similar fashion, considering the arrangement at the cummerbund connection, as shown in
It should be noted that the quick-release modules have been disclosed above in a manner permitting the retrofitting of an existing garment with the quick-release functionality of the present invention. However, the garments may also be fabricated to incorporated the quick-release features of this invention, for example by sewing or otherwise fixing the quick-release tabs directly to a hook and loop fastener element, instead of connecting it by another hook and loop fastener element.
To assist a wearer in repeatably accessing the quick-release tab of this invention, it is helpful to have the quick-release tab repeatably positioned in a common spot with respect to the garment, where the wearer can readily access it when necessary to doff the garment. The function of positioning the quick-release tab is performed by the front shoulder strap opening 60, but it can also be provided by some other type of releasable engagement between the quick-release tab and the garment. For example, a tab restraining and positioning strip 104 may be provided as shown in the alternative embodiment quick-release garment 106 of
It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1-5. (canceled)
6. A garment with a quick-release connection between two segments, comprising:
- a garment front panel having a garment first segment having a receiving part;
- a first fastener element connected to the receiving part;
- a garment second segment having a stripping part with a surface which faces the first fastener element and an opposite surface facing away from the first fastener element;
- a second fastener element affixed to the surface which faces the first fastener element of the receiving part, wherein one of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of hook fastener material, and the other of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of loop fastener material, such that the first fastener element and the second fastener element are connected as a hook and loop fastener to define a fastener region which retains the garment first segment in connection with the garment second segment, the fastener region having a remote margin and a near margin spaced in a first direction from the remote margin;
- a third fastener element being either a loop fastener material or a hook fastener material, the third fastener element being positioned on the opposite surface facing away from the first fastener element of the receiving part;
- a flap connected to the garment front panel, the flap having thereon either a loop fastener material or a hook fastener material to selectively overlie and engage with the third fastener element; and
- a quick release tab connected to the second fastener element at the fastener region remote margin, and the quick release tab extending along the stripping part to extend across the near margin of the fastener region, the quick release tab being graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab causes the second fastener element to peel away from the first fastener element such that the stripping part folds over itself and to cause the second fastener element and quick release tab to pass across the near margin thereby separating the first garment segment from the second garment segment.
7. The garment of claim 6 further comprising a releaseable engagement between the quick release tab and the first garment element to retain the quick release tab in position for ready access by a wearer prior to separating the first garment segment from the second garment segment.
8. The garment of claim 6 wherein the flap comprises a cover panel connected to the garment and extending over the fastener region and defining an exit opening; and wherein the quick release tab extends through the opening to protrude beyond the cover panel.
9-12. (canceled)
13. The quick-release garment assembly of claim 20 wherein the quick-release tab comprises a looped strip of material which extends through a central hole in a rigid loop piece.
14-19. (canceled)
20. A garment with a quick-release connection between two segments, comprising:
- a front panel of a vest having a garment first segment;
- a first fastener element affixed to the garment first segment;
- a flap which is pivotably attached to the garment first segment along an attachment margin which allows the flap to be pivoted on the attachment margin, the flap having a third fastener element, the flap having a free margin not along the attachment margin;
- a garment second segment having a first surface facing in a first direction, and an opposite surface facing in an opposite direction, the garment second segment having a remote margin, and a near margin spaced from the remote margin;
- a second fastener element connected to the garment second segment extending along the first surface and positioned between the remote margin and the near margin, wherein one of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of hook fastener material, and the other of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of loop fastener material, such that the first fastener element and the second fastener element are connected as a hook and loop fastener to define a fastener region which retains the garment first segment in connection with the garment second segment;
- a fourth fastener element connected to the garment second segment extending along the opposite surface;
- wherein the flap third fastener element comprises a region of hook fastener material or loop fastener material to form a hook and loop fastener when engaged with the first or fourth fastener element which retains the flap in connection with the first garment segment overlying the garment second segment; and
- a quick release tab connected to the garment second segment at the garment second segment remote margin, and extending along the garment second segment to pass beneath the flap free margin, the quick release tab being graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab in a direction from the remote margin towards the near margin causes the second fastener element to peel away from the first fastener element to cause the second fastener element and quick release tab to pass beneath the flap free margin thereby separating the second garment segment from the first garment segment.
21. The garment of claim 20 wherein the garment second segment comprises portions of a cummerbund element which extends from a vest rear panel, the garment second segment extending across portions of the garment first segment, and wherein the flap attachment margin extends above the second garment segment when it is attached to the garment first segment.
22. The garment of claim 21 wherein the direction from the remote margin towards the near margin extends along the front panel of the vest.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 3, 2013
Publication Date: Jun 4, 2015
Applicant: LINEWEIGHT LLC (Brooklyn, NY)
Inventors: Caleb Clark Crye (Brooklyn, NY), Matthew Aaron Johnson (Milford, PA)
Application Number: 14/095,439